This invention relates to cold storage units, such as coolers and refrigerators, and in particular, the invention relates to cooler units with an improved control unit housings capable of retaining consumable items stored on the liner floors of the cold storage units.
Cold storage units, such as refrigerators, freezers and beverage coolers, are well known, virtually indispensable appliances. Compact refrigerators, especially built-in undercounter beverage and wine coolers, have especially attractive attributes because they can be installed in homes, offices, boats, and recreational vehicles. There has thus been numerous refinements and improvements made to these devices to address and correct deficiencies in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,712, which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a cooler unit with improved storage and accessibility features.
An issue with compact cooler units is the maximal use of interior space for storage. Such units typically have a liner on the interior of the cabinet with a liner floor that slopes in a downward direction towards the door, either for drainage or because of the draft angle required to remove the liner from the mold. It is sometimes possible to store food and beverage items (i.e., consumable items) on the liner floor; however, the liner floor can prove to be unsuitable for food and beverage item storage because the slope can cause the food and beverage items to rest against the door of the unit when the door is closed. When the door is subsequently opened, the food and beverage items are no longer restrained by the door and can fall out of the cooler unit. Thus, a user is not able to use the liner floor to store food and beverage items, and this available storage space is wasted.
Another problem with retaining is that consumable items stored on the floor of a cooler unit may be disturbed by the door when the door is opened and closed. The jarring of the consumable item can negatively impact the quality of the consumable item. For example, carbonated and sparkling beverages can build up excessive pressure when agitated.
Another issue with compact cooler units is the placement of the controller, display and user inputs. The display should be positioned so that it can be easily viewed and the user inputs should be positioned to be easily accessible. The controller should be positioned to maximize interior space and to protect the control components from excessive heat. These design constraints can be difficult to meet for compact cooler units.